Event Also Honors Catholic University Program for Law Students in Public Service

On Thursday, April 17, the Alexandria Bar Association (the Bar), through its Foundation, is hosting an awards program and tribute to public service at the Alexandria Courthouse, 520 King Street (Fourth Floor) at 6:00 p.m. The event will celebrate the achievement of Alexandria youth and presents awards and grants for public service in law by highlighting the Bar’s flagship “Beat the Odds” Program, and the Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law’s Student Fellowship Program. The Honorable Gerald Bruce Lee, U.S. District Court Judge, Dean Veryl V. Miles of the Columbus School of Law, and Alexandria Mayor William D. Euille will be the featured speakers.

The Alexandria “Beat the Odds” program, modeled after a Children’s Defense Fund Program, is a collaborative effort that supports youth who have overcome difficult situations to achieve educational or vocational goals. At this fifth annual awards program, the committee will reward and recognize Alexandria youth, ages 13 to 21, who have achieved academic and other goals in spite of a history of involvement with the local court, mental health, or social services systems. The program provides financial awards, certificates, and other recognition for selected youth who meet scholarship criteria. During the event, the community will be able to meet exceptional award recipients, like Christopher, a T.C. Williams senior, who was highly recommended by his probation officer because, after several years of repeated juvenile offenses, he turned his life around at school and in the community. As a result, Christopher has been accepted at Bowie State University in Maryland and at several other four-year institutions.

The “Beat the Odds” program partnership includes several City agencies: the Alexandria Police Department; the City Manager’s Office; the Department of Human Services; and the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney; the Office of Juvenile Court Services; the Office of the Public Defender; the Youth Policy Commission; and the Alexandria City Public Schools.

The Alexandria Bar Foundation will also be honoring Veryl V. Miles, Dean of the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. Through the efforts of Dean Miles, the Law School has joined the Alexandria Bar Foundation in funding three Howard Fellowships for law students each fall and spring. Howard fellows earn a stipend while working in the Alexandria Public Defender Office to provide legal support for attorneys who represent indigent clients charged with crimes in Alexandria. The Howard Fellowship program is named in memory of T. Brooke Howard, a highly respected member of the Alexandria Bar Association, who, for several years, served as a mentor to many young lawyers in the City.

For more information about the programs, contact Sidoux Mitchell or Jane Foote at the Alexandria Bar Association Office, 703.548.1106.